Burnt

Bradley Cooper (Aloha) serves up a tasty but, wholly forgettable meal with Burnt. He is neither anti-hero nor villain, he is simply broken and, frankly, not worth rooting for, despite his story of attempted redemption.

The humor and romance never quite reach the boil and, instead, simmer somewhere near the bottom of the heat scale. This despite the talents of Sienna Miller (Stardust) and Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl), who both create complex women with minimal screen time. Perhaps not entirely believable women, but they do have depth. Daniel Brühl (Captain America: Civil War) is more hampered by the script in his role, but gamely tries to make it work, despite some rather bad writing for him. Other notables do well, but honestly don’t make enough of an impression to be mentioned, thanks to the movie itself, not their talents.

Director Wells does little to improve Knight’s (Pawn Sacrifice) script. The result is something a step above a soap opera or Hallmark movie, but not by much. Given the effort they went through to get the kitchen aspects right, even though they didn’t show enough of the food itself, it really is a meal left wanting. It isn’t unwatchable nor unenjoyable, but neither is it something you need to see unless there are particular performers you need to catch.